Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Kim Fielding

Consider today Kim Fielding Day! We're very excited to have Kim to the stable for the first time, so she got interviewed, she flashed us (with her writez - mind out of the gutter you!) AND she's going to give a copy of Rattlesnake to one lucky person. Maybe it could be you? So grab a drink, get comfy and enjoy KFD aka Kim Fielding Day!

What are your favorite M/M themes?

I love all sorts of genres and characters, but I have a special fondness for hurt/comfort. I also especially love nontraditional heroes—guys who aren’t conventionally handsome, maybe, who work unglamorous jobs, who are a little older, or who have disabilities.

What books do you consider Desert Island Keepers?

That’s a tough one because I rarely reread anything. Too many new books on my shelves and on my Kindle! And I read a lot of genres, so it’s hard to even narrow down my list.

What's your go-to tasty beverage?

Depends on the circumstances. While I’m writing, I generally have either water or Diet Coke near at hand. When I’m traveling within the US, I drink a lot of iced tea. In Europe, I gravitate toward espresso or, if I can get it, Turkish coffee. And booze-wise, it’s the m’s: margaritas, mojitos, and Moscow mules.

Do you have any secret talents? Inquiring minds want to know.

My daughter says my secret talent is being a nerd, but I don’t think that’s very secret. Let’s see. I know smatterings of several languages and can read three alphabets (Latin, Cyrillic, and Hebrew), although I’m fluent only in English. I’m good at baking bread. Oh! I’m great at making travel plans. I really love to travel and I can put together a great itinerary that will include major sights as well as quirky little stops.

If you had to choose to be one magical beast, what would it be and why? (you don't have to say unicorn...but we won't say neigh either)

Unicorns are all fine and well, but I’d prefer to be a werewolf. Howling at a full moon sounds very appealing to me. I like the opportunity to be fierce and dangerous or loyal and playful, depending on the situation.

Who's your favorite porn star?

Max Palmer. Who, uh, is fictional. That’s the porn name of Cleve Prieto, one of the characters in my novel Venetian Masks. I don’t actually have a favorite real porn star, although if anyone wants to make suggestions, I’ll be happy to check them out. In the name of research, of course.

Do you have author envy? Whose words do you read and think, "GAH, I wish I wrote that!"?

All the time. The author I envy most deeply is Neil Gaiman. Can I be Neil Gaiman when I grow up? In the m/m romance genre, I’m envious of many. The most recent two—because they’re the last two books I read—were Amy Lane and Eli Easton.

Any new projects you're currently working on?

Several, actually. I’m about a quarter of the way into a contemporary novel about a park ranger and an ex-junkie. I have several shorts and novellas in the works, and Venona Keyes and I are co-writing a novel too. Next year, my Ennek series will be released in second editions by Dreamspinner Press Publications. But much closer to now, I’ll have a fluffy Hanukkah story called “Grateful” out in December.

Cool author is super cool! And we might be able to point you in the right direction of worthy porn stars--for research purposes, of course. We unicorns only watch for scientific studies.*coughs*

Art

by

Kim Fielding

Jeez, it had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Mario had wanted to round out his art portfolio with a few human figure portraits, and Sam—the hot new guy who worked with him in Receiving—had mentioned that he made a little extra money modeling. Not much of a surprise, really, because Sam spent a good chunk of his spare time bodybuilding and looked like he’d recently stepped down from Olympus to pay a visit to mere mortals. So in an idle moment between shipments, Mario had haltingly asked whether Sam might be interested in posing. Sam had smiled at him. “Sure, dude! Just buy me a steak and some beer after.”

Three days later, Sam showed up right on time at Mario’s house. His sweatpants stretched over his muscular thighs, and it was a textile miracle that his plain black T-shirt didn’t give under the strain of his huge chest and bulging arms. “Brought some extra clothes in case you want me in something different,” he said, raising the duffel bag in one hand. “Or, you know, we can just do without.” His grin was ear-to-ear.

And Mario, God help him, nearly choked on his own tongue. Still spitting out garbled consonants, he led the way into his garage, which he’d converted into a passable studio. White floor, white walls, good lighting.

“Nice set-up,” Sam said, nodding approvingly. He let his bag fall with a thump, then spread his arms. “How do you want me?”

Any damn way I can get you. Luckily, Mario managed to not say that out loud. “Um, well, if you’re really okay with nudity, I’d kind of like—”

He didn’t even manage to finish the sentence before Sam skimmed off his shirt. Good lord, all that skin. Smooth, because apparently Sam waxed, and slightly golden, lacking visible tan lines. No tattoos. Mario could barely tear his eyes away from the thick veins in Sam’s forearms. But then Sam kicked off his sneakers and shoved down the sweats, and he was bare and magnificent and standing right there.

“Paint,” Mario said. It was a word, at least, and almost made sense under the current circumstances. He turned his back, hurried across the room, and gathered his supplies with fumbling fingers. As he set a canvas on his easel, he mentally berated himself for his foolishness. Yeah, of course someone who looked like Sam would be comfortable undressed. Hell, putting clothes on that body was like draping a dust cloth over Michelangelo’s David. But that didn’t mean that Sam would appreciate having his scrawny, geeky coworker drooling over him. Didn’t mean that Sam would be happy if he knew that Mario’s fingers were itching to hold something other than a paintbrush and that Mario’s dick was arguing that Art was not the most important activity worth pursuing.

By the time Mario scolded his libido and finished his setup, Sam was investigating a metal rack that held several plastic containers. “What’s this stuff?” he asked as he opened a lid. A yellow cloud rose from the container, making him cough slightly.

“Powdered chalk. I use it for—” Mario didn’t get to finish that sentence because Sam patted his palm against the chalk and then slapped the back of his own thigh. He twisted to see the effect.

“Cool!” Some of the chalk fell to the floor, creating a bright little mess. Some of the chalk must have magically ended up in Mario’s mouth, judging by the sudden desert dryness.

He swallowed twice. “That, uh, that’s an interesting effect. We could add more colors.”

Sam put down the yellow, grabbed a tub of green, and held it out. “You’re the artist.”

Somehow Mario managed to apply green and red and blue to Sam’s broad shoulders and back, and he managed to do so without collapsing in an apoplectic fit. He even rubbed a little tint over Sam’s thighs. But that left Sam’s ass—so utterly perfect that any other butt would want to hide in shame—round and firm, but untouched by color.

“You missed a spot,” Sam said, his brown eyes sparkling.

A man could stand only so much.

Mario dipped his right fingers in red, his left in green. He rubbed the chalk across the top of that beautifully rounded muscle. And then, with more courage than he thought himself capable of, slightly into that tight, enticing cleft.

“How do I look?” Sam purred.

“Like a work of art.”

“So go ahead and paint my picture, Mario. Take your time. I can pose for a long time. And when you’re done....” He reached over to stroke Mario’s cheek, no doubt leaving a ghosting of yellow chalk. “When you’re done, then I can show you just how much stamina I have.”

Mario smiled back and planted a playful kiss on Sam’s bare shoulder.

All right. Maybe Art had been a very good idea after all.

####

Please let Kim know what you thought of "Art" in the comments! We graciously thank her for spending time with the 'corns! ;D

Author info:

Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

Kim’s novel Brute was the 2013 Rainbow Award Winner for Best Gay Fantasy and tied for fourth place for Best Gay Novel.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

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To enter to win an ebook copy of Rattlesnake, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until10:00PM (Pacific time) on 12/1/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.